La horripilante bestia humana (1969)

Director:

René Cardona

Writers:

René Cardona Jr. (story)
René Cardona (story)

Release Date:

1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Half Man, Half Beast, ALL HORROR!

Plot:

This cheap Mexican horror film is a remake of Cardona's Doctor of Doom (1962), spiced with nudity, medical footage...

Plot Keywords:

Wrestling | Gorilla | Nudity | Heart Transplant | Medical Footage

Cast

José Elías Moreno	...	Dr. Krallman
Carlos López Moctezuma	...	Goyo
Armando Silvestre	...	Lt. Arturo Martinez
Norma Lazareno	...	Lucy Ossorio
Agustín Martínez Solares	...	Julio Krallman (as Agustin Mtz. Solares)
Javier Rizo
Gerardo Zepeda		(as Gerardo Cepeda)
Noelia Noel	...	Elena Gomez
Gina Morett	...	Woman in shower

Also Known As:

Gomar: The Human Gorilla
Horror and Sex
Horror y sexo (racier version)
Night of the Bloody Apes (USA)

Runtime:

USA:83 min (dubbed version) | Mexico:81 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R | UK:(Banned) (1984-1999) | UK:18 (re-rating, uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Cinematográfica Calderón S.A.

Trivia:

Was added to the video nasty list and remained there throughout the panic. The banned video gained attention due to its pre-cert video cover featuring bloody surgeon's hands holding a scalpel, with the caption "Warning: this film contains scenes of extreme and explicit violence."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the girl is attacked in the park, the fake "grass" is accidently pushed aside, revealing the hard studio floor beneath.

Quotes:

Dr. Arturo Martinez: Prepare the gorilla.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell (1987) (V)

Prepare the gorilla! Possibly the pinnacle of Mexican schlock

This was one of the most puzzling entries on the legendary Video Nasty list. Cult film fans are no doubt familiar with this list compiled by British censors of horror films deemed unfit for the public. Many of the films' inclusions were certainly warranted ("Cannibal Holocaust", "Antropophagus", "Faces of Death"). However, "Night of the Bloody Apes" didn't deserve its inclusion on the list. Sure, there's sex and gore, but its so cheaply made and silly that its impossible to find even remotely offensive. Even the grisly heart surgery footage is so blatantly spliced in it becomes amusing. Where the film does warrant inclusion however is on a list of the all-time greatest bad movies. Mexico in the 60s produced many unintentionally hilarious and bizarre schlock films (such as the Santo series and "The Brainiac"), and "Night of the Bloody Apes" is possibly the most campy one of them all. Its just like the early 60s entries except with lots of gore and nudity.

There are several reasons why this bad film is so entertaining to watch. The concept itself (a scientist attempting to save his son from dying from leukemia by transplanting a gorilla's heart into him) is ridiculous and not exactly disturbing material. The female wrestling footage is also great fun to watch. The gore effects are laughably over-the-top and the dubbed dialog provides many snickers (my personal favorite being "Perhaps you have been seeing on your television too many pictures of terror"). The nudity and sexual violence are so silly they're hardly offensive. Also, the performances are hilarious. There's several admirable attempts at creating sympathetic characters, but the acting is so camp (with several hilarious emoting scenes), any chances of depth to the film is completely squandered. Despite the abundance of tasteless elements, this film retains the sense of nativity and innocence that trademarked the country's earlier b-films. "Night of the Bloody Apes" may as well be the pinnacle of Mexican schlock and one of the greatest bad movies ever made. (7/10)